I agree with what you say, but for pure culture I'd choose Montreal as one of the nicest work/live places to live in Canada. The OP is coming from California, so from a weather and lifestyle perspective Vancouver is probably the best. From a city perspective Toronto probably is most like LA with respect to bland architecture, urban sprawl and gridlocked freeways.

Of all the cities in Canada I've been to I'd consider living in choose in order;

1)Toronto -- Hometown bias probably, but I truly love the city, it's multicultural vibrancy and the economic prospects for people with many types of business background also it doesn't get as cold as many other Canadian cities, downside, boring architecture, traffic, urban sprawl.

2) Montreal -- Awesome nightlife, beautiful European style city good opportunities for many different employment options, downside, very cold winters, craziest drivers in Canada, you should speak or learn French to get the most out of it.

3) Vancouver -- warmest major city in Canada in the winter, awesome mountain views, west coast lifestyle, downside lots of rain and gray skies in certain parts of the year can be depressing to people used to sunshine, housing really expensive.

4) Ottawa --Stable economy, tech and government related jobs are the best opportunities. Downside, as cold as Montreal but not as fun

5) Calgary -- Huge economic strength, low taxes, close to mountains, lots of blue skies, weather in winter can vary from -30c one day to +10 the next due to chinook winds bringing warm pacific air, but generally cold in winter , downsides, economy, too exposed to oil and gas industry, still feels like a small town, too many pickup trucks

I won't comment on cities I wouldn't live in or haven't spent enough time to evaluate other than to say Atlantic Canada seems to be a nice place to live people are tremendously kind and friendly, cheap real estate, interesting roads to drive, but economically not very vibrant (though this may be changing)

Politically and socially Alberta is a pretty Republican Conservative style part of Canada much of the rest of Canada is pretty liberal (in the US sense of the word).

Canada is generally quite accepting of people of different cultures and races. Crime is pretty low, social equality (and taxation) are higher than the US.

We are stricter on gun ownership than countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Democratic Republic of Congo and the US, but you can have one if you prove you are not an idiot.

If you want to start a conversation with a Canadian stranger talk about the weather, it always seems to be too hot, or too cold for any Canadian, if it happens to be a nice day say "nice day eh?" with a surprised tone.

Start studying hockey now! If you don't understand the game you will only be able to discuss the weather with your friends from September to June.

Good luck.

Good and fair summation having lived in all those cities myself with the exception of Ottawa.

Coming from L.A. I think you would best adapt to Vancouver or Toronto, both of which are great cities with lots to offer.

coming from L.A., and going straight to Fort Mc will be like time travel into a distant planet !!!
if you want to keep the same style, Vancouver is probably your best bet... buy a rain coat though
one poster was right, Canada is huge and you'll find everything and anything as far as climate, people, lifestyle...

Calgary is way more vibrant as a city than Edmonton. There are tons of places to go and lots of ethnic diversity. The pictures I posted certainly speak volumes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuco44

"the mountains are the only good thing about Calgary !!!"

Having lived in Calgary for 10 years, and Edmonton for over 6 years; I can tell you you are dead wrong about that. There is not enough money in the world to get me to go back to Edmonton.

That is the misconception. I have been to LA several times and the taxes over there are astronomical. Way higher than here in Alberta. Sales tax alone was about 10% or so. I heard people pay up to 60% taxes altogether there in the wake of the state out of money now.

But, then again Alberta has the lowest taxes in Canada. Only 5% GST and that's it. No HST or anything.

My income tax is also in below 30% per annum and I am close to $100K (mind you I have a dependent wife and she is studying as an immigrant doctor so we are a single-income family so taxes are lower for us).

Quote:

Originally Posted by pmeloche

Taxes in Canada are higher than in the U.S. and Québec is among the highest in Canada.

__________________

""A great sounding, responsive, high-revving, naturally aspirated engine is part of the DNA of a thoroughbred sports car. No two ways about it."

People dont forget FMM is the engine that drives AB that helps pay the bills in Canada.

AB transfers out billions every year back to the fed gov't to support the rest of Canada

Enough of politics

Calgary is nice. I wouldnt live there, no thx. I'll stick with Etown.

Calgary is becoming the new west GTA, in good ways and bad imop

At least someone realizes Fort McMurrays role in Canada. A lot of people may not like it there but you got to face it...... it is keeping Canada Running. When everyother company in the country was laying of we were hiring and I was working OT out the Ying Yang.

Where else in the world does a Tradesperson make a doctors wage???

I realize it is not the best place in the country to live but it is definitely not the worse and I for one like it here..... it has been my home for 10 years now.

I came here with only a suitcase and now I am living very well....... Thanks to Fort Mac!

No doubt Ft. Mac is a great place to make a good living but this guy and his family are coming from L.A., and they probably have never seen a pickup truck with bull's balls hanging from the hitch let alone a city full of them.

No doubt Ft. Mac is a great place to make a good living but this guy and his family are coming from L.A., and they probably have never seen a pickup truck with bull's balls hanging from the hitch let alone a city full of them.

I've had a chance to stay in several places in the US and Europe, but for me, there isn't a better city (ok maybe Paris) in the world to live in. Toronto has got a great vibe, lots of things to do year round - festivals, food, night life - and a very safe place to live.

Your kidding me right? I believe TO has the highest crime rate in Canada.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azorean

No doubt Ft. Mac is a great place to make a good living but this guy and his family are coming from L.A., and they probably have never seen a pickup truck with bull's balls hanging from the hitch let alone a city full of them.

Those were my thoughts exactly.

My favorite city/place to live is Vancouver. Beautiful city, nice people, hot girls, awesome food, did I mention beautiful city? People's complaints of Van indicating cloudy days in winter and high housing costs... I'd rather it be cloudy for several months out of the year than have frost bitten nuts. Housing cost is high but being Calgary resident now its getting very very close in comparison.

No doubt Ft. Mac is a great place to make a good living but this guy and his family are coming from L.A., and they probably have never seen a pickup truck with bull's balls hanging from the hitch let alone a city full of them.

HAHAHA, that's gotta be the best quote of this entire thread !!!

i came from France to Edmonton, and 6 months later straight to Fort Mc on a 2-day notice... it WAS a shock...

i feel like Fort Mc still has some of that Wild Wild West spirit, modern style obviously... that's maybe what i like about it, cant wait to go back !!

Ottawa is good choice, smaller city, good weather and sorta of a coastal feel even though it is inland.

Gonna get HST or PST everywhere but here is AB

Funny thing about Ottawa and Edmonton is I remember many NHL player's wives refusing to allow their husbands to sign for those two teams because they didn't want to live in those "boring" cities. I couldn't believe their quotes actually made the papers....freakn spoiled sportswives.

Ottawa is good choice, smaller city, good weather and sorta of a coastal feel even though it is inland.

Gonna get HST or PST everywhere but here is AB

Ottawa is supposed to be a Beautiful city....... You wouldn't expect anything less from the Nations Capital though!

I'd recommend Halifax though..... I am currently vacationing in Halifax and enjoying every day. Halifax has really nice weather in the summers, not too much snow in the winters, lots of lakes, lots of nice beaches on the coast, Ocean Front Property for a relative bargain compared to most places and so much history and culture.

I lived in Corktown for over 5 years, just south of Regent Park (considered one of the worst areas in the city). I never felt threatened the entire time I lived there, even walking home late at night. While a lot of the folks in that area are poor, by no means are they criminals. Compared to crime in the US in particular, Toronto is a very safe city.

One major downside i'll admit is that as Maple Leaf fans, Torontonians are all suckers. We pay the highest hockey ticket prices in the world, and the Leafs have no shot at winning the Stanley Cup any time in the next 5 years. But somehow, the ACC is sold out for every game....

I lived in Corktown for over 5 years, just south of Regent Park (considered one of the worst areas in the city). I never felt threatened the entire time I lived there, even walking home late at night. While a lot of the folks in that area are poor, by no means are they criminals. Compared to crime in the US in particular, Toronto is a very safe city.

One major downside i'll admit is that as Maple Leaf fans, Torontonians are all suckers. We pay the highest hockey ticket prices in the world, and the Leafs have no shot at winning the Stanley Cup any time in the next 5 years. But somehow, the ACC is sold out for every game....

Don't move to Canada, the gas and the tax we have will just make you cry.

Here in AB we have the lowest taxes in the country (Both Income taxes and Sales taxes) and it is probably lower than some states in the US. If we make over 100k in AB our Tax rate is about 36% as opposed to nearly 50% for some of the Maritime Provinces (An accountant told me the tax rate yesterday). By the way free healthcare means a lot too.

I just drove through a big part of the US and yes the gas is a bit cheaper, ~$50 in the US to fill from empty instead of ~$60 in Canada on average (The dollar is pretty well par now most of the time so the exchange no longer makes the US expensive for us Canadians).

One thing the US has is a stupid number of Toll Roads..... I paid ~$30-$40 in tolls on the turnpikes from Illinois to the Canadian Border in Maine. I don't mind paying tolls either but in Canada the Toll roads generally don't allow trucks on them and traffic is not too bad. In the US The Turnpikes were blocked with trucks and the traffic was stupid!

Crime rates are a joke in Canada when compared to the US.
I have lived in Miami, Boston, Maine, Chicago and now Atlanta and I always am aware of where and the potential threat in these places(except Maine), but hardly think about it when Im back home in Toronto.